With 1/3 of the 2017 season now solidly in the rear-view mirror, it is probably an appropriate time to look at the Braves season, where it is, where its been and where it is likely to end up. For the first two months, a supposed strength of the Brave failed to materialize, that being pitching. I know, no one thought a staff made up of a pair of AARP prospects and a rookie was going the lead the league in ERA but neither did anyone realistically think they would be this bad.

Richard Allen Dickey age 42

To be fair, R.A. Dicky is about what was expected, some good games, some bad games and some that were rained out. Bartolo Colon and Julio Teheran however have been horrible. Unless you have a team that can routinely put a couple of touchdowns on the board, there is little hope for a W to be put up, they just have not pitched anywhere near expectations.

Bartolo Colon age 44

Bartolo may have an excuse that he simply is feeling his age; Julio, for whatever reason, has just not had it. He has developed a habit of giving up gopher balls at an alarming rate. It is as if he has caught what ever contagion afflicting the since-demoted Arron Blair and Matt Wisler and served up baseballs like they were on a Tee. Opposing hitters have fattened up their batting averages to an alarming degree when facing Braves’ pitchers.

Jaime Garcia age 30

We’ve gotten some decent pitching from Jaime Garcia, a new and unexpected addition to the lineup. With a new addition to the DL, some of the new Minor League pitchers will be making their appearances in the Big Show.

The first will be Sean Newcomb who was acquired from the Angels as part of the deal which sent Andrelton Simmons to the left coast. Sean is a big left-hander who, like most young fire-balling hurlers, has had his troubles maintaining consistency with the strike zone. Perhaps he will get lucky and have an ump with a wide zone behind the dish when he is pitching.

Kris Medlin age 31

If he can stay healthy, old favorite Kris Medlen looks to be on a path which should return him to the big leagues by July. Kris continues to build arm and shoulder strength after two Tommy John surgeries and a shoulder repair. He has altered his mechanics so as to lessen the stress on his shoulder. The rest of the young phenoms toiling away in high A and double A will likely not show up in an Atlanta uniform until the 2018 and 2019 seasons and beyond.

Freddie Freemanage 27

Matt Adams age 28

As far as offense, the injury to Freddie Freeman’s wrist was an awful set back to the hopes and dreams of the 2017 Braves. While the Braves front office pulled off quite a coup in dealing for Matt Adams, he is still not Freddie Freeman. Upon Freeman’s return in August, the Braves will determine how best to use Adams’ considerable talent.

Dansby Swanson age 23

Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments could be the shaky play of rookie shortstop Dansby Swanson. Oh well, he will get past it. He perhaps is simply the victim of too high expectations after a fast start last September. It is a lot of pressure to put on a rookie to be the face of the franchise, just ask Jeff Francoeur. The current offense has shown glimpses of solid play and impressive offense but for now, we best just watch as this team goes thru its growing pains.

Hi everyone, just dropped by to say hello. I get to hear 2 games when the Braves are playing the one the announcer’s are calling and the one Gil is calling, and sometime they are the same, so it sounds like an echo. 🙂 makes things interesting. Hope everyone is well and enjoying baseball. Bye for now. Miss Josie

Starting pitching has been atrocious this year. Collectively, Braves starters have combined for a 17-24 record and a 4.82 era (11th in the league) and have surrendered 58 long balls (tied for second worst in the league) and a WHIP of 1.44 (tied for 11th) Braves relievers have been a little better with a record of 9-8, ERA of 4.05 (8th), a WHIP of 1.23 (tied for third best) and they’ve given up 26 homeruns (fifth worst).

Not exactly what Braves fans are accustomed to!

On another note, I went to a charity ballgame tonight hosted by my home team Riverdogs. It’s called Legends in the South and pits former Yankees v. former Braves. Tonight’s even included visits from Sid Bream, Steve Avery, Ryan Klesko, Marquis Grissom, Greg McMichael, Jesse Garcia, Pete Smith, Jeff Treadway, Mike Bielecki, Marvin Freeman, Dwight Smith. Denny Neagle was supposed to be there but apparently is in the hospital. Anyway, fun seeing those guys. Bream was kind enough to sign an 11×14 of “The Slide” which I look forward to having framed and put on my wall!

Gil and CL, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! My old computer was not liking the previous blog anymore…it would take 2-3 minutes to fully load…

So weird,after so much bad pitching that we had to endure, suddenly, 4 excellent starts in a row!
Dansby looked like the 2016 version last night, best defensive play I’ve seen him make deep in the hole, then in the 9th, turning a single into a double, that led to Ruiz’s game winning single…
Hope that give him a whole heap of confidence from here on out…
CL, great links! I love those stories, better than anything else you see on CBS news

Morning folks, wow, what a ball game. Julio pitch like “good”Julio and Dansby Swanson playing like the guy who deserves to have a bobble head night. I flipped over to the Mets broadcast in the eight and ninth innings and it was amazing the superlatives they had for Dansby. Great play deep in the hole in the eight and the hustle double in the ninth. Said it was the sign of a winning ballclub.

So, two more big games today, not sure if I will get to see both, the MLB package tends to be greedy when it comes to double hitters.

Well, after that start…we’d better never see Bartolo back on the mound again!
Snit is now capt. Hook…6 1/3 innings, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 run (unearned, on his own error) 96 pitches…looked AWESOME! I didn’t see the first few innings, but he throws so easy….I saw one fastball at 94, most were 92-93, but his curveball is his out pitch.
Chip made an excellent comparison, he looks a lot like Jon Lester….

Ber, he looked even better the first two innings. You always anticipate at least one ball to the backstop from a rookie but he looked really good. A shame if he gets the L hung on him from the error (s sure double play ball on a come backer) but that is baseball. Still, the Braves have a chance against a well used Mets pen.

Yep, Bartolo may have a long stay on the DL… after all, lats can be tricky so you never know… 🙂

what revoltin’ developments….lucky for me, I was at Church (Long story, Church waiting for new structure, was at a high school, they wanted auditorium back, so services are on Saturday afternoons) and missed the second game

This has been a really tough season to be a Braves fan. It seems like every time the fixes one leak, another springs forth. I hope those kids in the Braves organization realize the opportunities that are before them. Unlike years past when the Braves might have one opening on the roster at the beginning of the season, the current team appears to have multiple, not to mention seemingly endless ongoing opportunities to improve the team.

This season’s team has been a tease. Everytime I think they are going to get to .500, they take two steps back.

Gil, I SO hear ya!
Especially after that aggressive baseball in the 9th Friday nite, I thought they were primed to go on a tear…
to be a bit fair, so many teams have talent these days , I mean look at the cubs…it wasn’t if they’d win the division, but by how many games…the whole NL Central seems to be around .500. And who would have thought that this year the Rockies would/could go into Wrigley and manhandle them like they have?

But, if the braves pitchers stay on a roll, it will make dreams of .500 more possible….

still can’t get over how many plays are even in slow motion so very close…and how many have gone against the braves…
still, offense has sure gone (there’s that word again) cold just when the pitching turned around…

tru dat… Adams of course is going to be more streaky…(IF the NL would go to the DH too, as V assures us is a matter of if, not when, Adams would be a great guy for that role, filling in for Freddie once a week) when FF gets back, I wonder if they will trade him away right away, or wait til the off season?

day of the draft, and I don’t even see any stories from DOB on who the braves might go for…this is when I wish the braves had tanked a bit more late last year 😉
Has everyone heard about Hunter Greene? 102 MPH at 17, and a SS. seems wise beyond his years…has an interesting workout style..doubt he will be around at #5. the “sexy” guys are 1 to 3, but as we all know, there are guys below that that become superstars (Aaron Judge, the most amazing power hitter on the planet right now, was #32 I think from the MLBTV ad I saw last night)
still, it would be nice to have some franchise changing player like Harper…but then again there is only one of him…

Yes Ber, it is the great New York City crap shoot…. Not one single sure thing in the bunch. So many pitfalls await them. Very unlike the NFL but then again, there have some real duds in that draft too. Far too many pundits opine based on what they are told second hand but try to play it off as insider knowledge.

As much as I would like for the Braves to make a splash, I am more interested in who can carry the team for a month or so.

Just an observation but to me, Matt Adams is deadly on breaking balls but has trouble catching up to a fastball. Long swing? Slow bat speed? Guessing at pitches?

Another observation… I think Easy O will be DFA when the Braves can no longer keep him on the DL to make room for a starter. I don’t expect Bartolo to be back after only 10 days.

One more thing, what ever happened to players reaching into their glove to get a grip on the ball as opposed to trying to flip it up and catching and throw all in one motion? I saw that move result in several errors this week end.

Gil, interesting point about Adams. Some hitters I am more aware of if they only seem to hit slow fastballs (you know, 90-91) and hangers, than others…hadn’t noticed, except I think I recall some high hard ones getting past him, but then again, not a lot of folks can catch up to those either…
Kemp will look bad missing an 92 MPH fastball that makes him look like his bat is slow, then hit a 97 MPH fastball the other way for a homer.
Perhaps mentally he gears up more from the really hard thrower, vs the low 90s guy? really just guessing…

Minor has thrived upon his shift to a bullpen role, embracing relief work with a 2.25 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate through 32 2/3 innings. Lefties have posted a pathetic .125/.205/.175 batting line against him, and right-handers haven’t fared especially well, either (.243/.300/.351). Minor is technically controlled through 2018, but mutual options are so rarely exercised by both parties that he’s best viewed as a pure rental. I do think there’s at least a plausible scenario where both sides pick the option up due to Minor’s excellence but limited ’pen track record and recent health troubles. But, the contracts secured by Mike Dunn and Brett Cecil on last year’s open market suggest that Minor can do better if he continues at this pace.

wow….
I would have bet money, a lot of money, the braves would have lost this game! When Ender misses a ball by 2 inches coming in on a ball (not his fault) then didn’t see a ball that went over his head…and Nick M. misses a ball coming in by just an inch or so…and beat up on Strausberg and were down 9-6 to the Nats…you really think they are gonna win the game?
Amazing!
And Gil, I saw Adams hit homers on 95 and 96 (I think, or a 2nd at 95) so today at least, he can hit a good fastball! :lol

well, quick pitch on mlb left me a bit cold with info on the draft ( only showed the first 3 pics, then a few near the bottom when their new team was in the highlights) then a brief recap of the draft (no talk on Wright) so…fool that I am, and with no more baseball tonight, I put on ESPN’s…..sportcenter…ugh…
no joke, 45 Minutes of footage of the shocking NBA Finals where the best team by far…won game 5.
2 baseball game highlights were shown….not the braves-Nats, shockingly enough….
not one word about the draft….not one…their joke of a website didn’t even have a link on their homepage about it…

and it’s funny, but even DOB didn’t seem to really cover it….just seemed muted this year more than previous years…

ESPeeYew will spend more time covering women’s field hockey than they will baseball. Look for a link to Brendon Mackay or the Tampa Bay Rays for a video of Brendon’s reaction to being picked by the Rays, you would have thought he had been sedated before hand.

After 5 delays, our flight finally left Newark at about 9:35pm and arrived in Charlotte at about 11:15pm. I pulled out of the parking deck at a very late midnight hour for a 3 hour drive home. By the grace of God I was able to stay awake. Well, Him plus my daughter who checked on me every few minutes. 😀

As to the draft, Kyle Wright was a natural pick for ATL, and a possible #1 overall. The 4 teams ahead of us simply had “their guy”. I honestly believe if the Braves had picked any higher, they would have taken Wright anyway.

From Baseball America, after a recent outing:

The righthander, who’s likely to be a top three selection in the draft less than 10 days from now, pitched at 92-94 for most of the outing, dipping as low as 90 with his two-seamer and bumping 95-96 as late as the sixth inning. He found bursts of command, locating his fastball with pinpoint precision down in the zone and to both sides of the plate. Wright generated arm-side run or late sinking action on the pitch throughout the evening, showing at least 55 fastball movement on the 20-to-80 scouting scale.

While his fastball velocity, command and movement all showed plus potential, Wright’s changeup was equally impressive. He repeated his arm speed on the pitch well, giving it a fastball look out of his hand. Thrown in the mid-80s, Wright’s changeup showed late fade and flashed arm-side run. Wright’s changeup flashed plus potential often, generating swinging strikeouts.

“I’ve gotten better and better with it each week,” Wright said of his changeup’s progress. “It’s a pitch that can take over games because you can’t see it. I’ve grown more and more confident with it each time I’ve gone out there. It’s a pitch that I work on a lot throughout the week to bring into the game on the weekend, so it’s been a big pitch for me as it was tonight.”

Wright’s curveball also showed flashes, showing tight spin and late vertical break early and often. He hung a couple breaking balls up in the zone, but showed confidence throwing the pitch for a strike or using it as a chase pitch down and away from righthanded hitters. The pitch has plus potential.

Welcome home Vee, fun fact: Charlotte is halfway for me between Richmond and Atlanta… Still a long drive…

So, tell us about the kid the Braves picked 2nd.

The Braves have had some success with their number 2 picks. (Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann)

Primary day here in VA. I doubt my preferred candidates will make the cut but it won’t be due to my vote being absent. I always keep in mind the old Mark Twain adage. “Sometimes, a majority simply means all the fools are on the same side”

Braves 2nd rounder Drew Waters is the big bopper we’ve all been wanting.

Courtesy of Bowman:

Waters is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound outfielder who has been clocked at 6.4 seconds over 60 yards. The 18-year-old prospect is the son of a former Georgia Tech offensive lineman, and he already wears a size 13 shoe. This combination leads the Braves to believe he will continue to grow physically and gain the power potential they would seek from a corner outfielder.

He’s a Georgia boy growing in the north ATL suburbs where he led Etowah HS to the 7-A state championship this year. (7-A is the state’s largest classification.) Fred McGriff has scouted him extensively, as well as coaching him in a summer league, and says he carries the intangibles that typically separate the men from the boys. I’ll take CrimeDog at his very respected word.

Baseball America had him ranked as their #7 OF, and #33 overall. They also had him ranked #2 in their High School Hitters category of their “2017 MLB Draft Class: Best Tools” list. They also call him the top position prospect in the state of GA.

Several draft prognosticators had him as an easy 1st round pick… and a couple had him going in the top half.

“It’s far-fetched when you get the guy who is still on the board who shouldn’t still be on the board who is advanced for his age. He brings everything we want to see. He was definitely No. 1 on our board, so we feel really good about where we are.”

“Plus fastball, plus curveball, plus slider… has feel for a changeup with good command.”

“It’s far-fetched when you get the guy who’s still on the board who shouldn’t be on the board and he’s advanced for his age and he brings everything we want to see… he was definitely up there number one on our board.”

Alan Carpenter of Tomahawk Take: ( I don’t like every writer they have over there, but I like Carpenter’s work alot.)

Given his pitching experience and innings accumulation, the Braves probably do not need to be terribly concerned about easing him in to pro ball. It is quite plausible that Wright could be competing for a spot in the major league rotation as early as next Spring.

That might be a bit of a reach, but maybe by mid-year… at least mid-June to preserve that extra year of control. Then again, if he’s ahead of Max Fried or Patrick Weigel, why not? I guess the operative word there is “competing”, and I guess he should at least be competing.

After the first couple of rounds, it is just so much cannon fodder who may or may not find success playing baseball. It allows each organization to renew itself with young player and move out those who clearly have no future in the game as players.

So, much will be written and said about who and when and where of some of the obvious talents but for the most part, perhaps we would be better served if we had the time (I don’t) to go back and look at the drafts held five years ago and see who is still around and who isn’t.

Not that we should have the draft, every organization needs to have the opportunity to get better, to me, it is what separates those GMs worth their salt and the pretenders.

oh thank goodness, another pitcher! You know, they say you can’t have enough pitching!

You can’t. And the time will come when some of these guys are cashed in for other players, such as when they traded pitchers Rob Whalen and Max Povse to the M’s for prospect Alex Jackson. Jackson was a former catcher whom the M’s converted to OF, but the Braves have moved back to catcher.

Who is he?

He’s currently slashing .301/.359/.575 with high-A Florida, including 10 HR’s and 12 2B’s in 39 games. He was just was chosen as a FSL All-Star.

Interestingly, the Braves also netted another player in that trade you never hear about because Jackson was the centerpiece. But they also got LHP Tyler Pike.

Pike is 4-2 in 11 starts with a 2.13 ERA w/ 62 K’s/25 BB’s in 63.1 IP. Batters are hitting just .206 against him. He is also a FSL All-Star.

A comment about Ryan Zimmerman. While I an in no way a fan of the Nationals, not exactly sure why but well, you know. Anyhoo, I have always been a fan of Ryan Zimmerman who the only star for the gNats for a pretty long time.

I do not like Bryce Harper, I think he is a punk but that is only my opinion. Zim on the other hand has always been an up front and unselfish player. While I do not like the idea of him beating up on my team, I have to root for him and he more than deserves to be the starting first baseman for the NL All-star team.

Believe it or not, I actually like Bryce Harper. Brash..? Yes. Cocky..? Uh, maybe. Confident..? Without question. Arrogant..? I don’t think so. He gives 100% on every play, and backs up pretty much everything he ever says with action. He’s very passionate about what he does, sometimes to his detriment. He might could stand to dial it back a notch, and he probably will as he seasons a little more. Can you believe he’s still just 24? Seems like he should be older since he’s been around a while, but he’s really still a young’un.

Pool rules change after the 1st 10 rounds. That’s why the Braves took several college seniors in a row at the end of yesterday. They have no leverage in negotiations are are easily signable for team dictated bonuses.

And their first 2 picks today (11th & 12th rounds) were both college catchers. 11th rounder Drew Lugbauer out of Michigan is more bat over glove. 12th rounder Hagen Owenby is more glove over bat. Both are capable of rising to the ML level.

They just took another college catcher in round 19. Thus far today, all of rounds 11-19 have been college players. 4 pitchers, 3 catchers, a 1B and an OF.

Scanning back over the draft list, only 2 of their 19 picks thus far (being rounds 2 & 3) have been high schoolers. The rest have come from the college ranks. That’s fairly dramatic, especially for the Braves.

The first 10 picks of the draft have a suggested bonus slot value attached. Each team is allocated a “bonus pool” from which it can offer its drafted players. Each team’s pool is based on its draft position and its number of picks, plus the amount spent in the previous year’s draft. If a team goes over its threshold by 5% or less, it must pay a “luxury tax” of 75% on the amount over the threshold. Teams that go 5-10% over must pay a 100% tax on the excess, and will lose their next 1st round pick. A team that goes 15% over can lose its next two 1st round picks in addition to the “luxury tax”. These excess picks will go to smaller-revenue teams via a designated formula. (BTW- These are the compensatory picks that can be traded.)

The Braves have the 9th largest bonus pool in this year’s draft with $9,409,600 to spend. The approximate value of their first 10 picks is $9,899,300. Hmmm… seems like a problem, right?

Plus, in order to sign guys like their #1, Vandy pitcher Kyle Wright, they’ll have to go over slot since he can simply go back for his senior season and come back out next year. Similarly, both their next 2 picks are high schoolers with college scholarships in hand. They all have leverage. Seems like a bigger problem, right?

Round 4 pick Troy Bacon is a JuCo guy with little leverage, and rounds 5-10 picks are all college seniors with no leverage. Those 7 will likely sign for under slot deals which will allow the top 3 to be signed over slot. That was of course by design so as to make it all fit under the threshold. not to say the team didn’t get guys they liked or wanted, but it does shape the overall draft strategy.

Today’s picks will likely have higher “ceilings”, but yesterday’s picks have higher “floors”.

That said, and as Gil aptly noted, it’s all a crap shoot anyway. You hire the best scouts to make the best recommendations, then you draft the best players you like that are still available, and you still have flops from the top and surprises from the bottom. The aim is to try to minimize the flops and hope for the surprises.

So if you saw Matt Kemp grab his hamstring like I did, your mind might have also wondered “Who comes up if he has to be DL’d?”

Well, Jace Peterson is a possibility since he’s already on the 40-man roster, but he’s not a good LF choice for any extended period. For the record, there is currently 1 open spot on the 40.

Dustin Peterson is a possibility, but he’s only had 74 AB’s at AAA since returning from the broken bone in his hand he sustained in spring.

If you’re thinking Ronald Acuña, I’d like to think so too. But the youngster (19) has only had 113 AB’s above single-A. I wouldn’t say “never”, but I just can’t see it.

Dark horse candidate is Joey Meneses. He’s slashing a cool .311/.359/.441 at AA, with 6 HR. At 25, he’s not a baby. He has moved slowly through the system, but showed up last year in noticeably better physical shape and had a breakout season split between high-A and AA slashing .290/.348/.413 with 7 HR’s. Playing mostly 1B coming up, he moved to LF last season and is at the very least an average defender, and his OF defense continues to improve the more innings he gets out there. He must be doing something right… he was named to the Southern League’s All-Star team last week.

Won’t be Acuna, has hit a dry spot at AA. Needs to experience the failure for a while to grow.

Both Lane Adams and Santana can play left so it could be any position player. Peterson is playing well in Triple A from what I hear.

Watching the Nationals, I am so reminded of the 2007 Braves. Y’all remember that team, the one that traded for Texiera because they needed pitching but could not acquire one. They thought they could just out slug everyone. They had an abysmal bullpen. Could never hold a lead. It was tough to watch.

Good morning all, a day off for the team today. Perhaps the Braves will spend the day inking Wright to a deal. While I don’t begrudge Wright for getting all he can, I hope he leaves so money on the table to allow the Braves to sign the rest of their picks. Pretty sever penalties for going too far over the cap.

Watching the rerun of yesterday’s game. A thunderstorm popped up in the 2nd inning and I lost my satellite feed for an hour. A little over 2 inches of rainfall. Wohoo…

Setting up a new CPU this AM. A real pain to transfer files. Trying to figure out where I put my CD MS Office so I can read my old files. NOT BUYING A NEW LICENSE.

I hope he leaves so money on the table to allow the Braves to sign the rest of their picks.

Well, truth is, out of 40 picks, they’ll probably only sign about 20-25 of them. Many of the later picks – especially high schoolers – will opt for their college offers rather than a low signing bonus. Same with college underclassmen. They’ll go back to school and hope for better draft positions next year.

The ones we really need are our top 15, and most of our top 20. If we can get those guys, it’ll be a great day.

You can bet that they already worked out the frameworks of deals with the college seniors they took at 5-10, giving them the flexibility they need to ink 1-3. The JuCo guy at #4 is a a good one, so he’ll probably get at least his slot value, maybe a little more. He does have another year of college eligibility, I believe. But Santa Fe Community College is not exactly glamorous, so he may be motivated to sign.

I foresee the Braves inking Wright first, then working on #’s 2-4 next. Once those 4 are under contract, 5-10 will happen right away since they already know pretty much those parameters.

11-15 are tricky, and 16-20 are trickier. It’s always hard to say if those guys think they should have been picked higher, feeling they deserve more $$… unless they’re college seniors. They have no leverage whatsoever.

The Braves typically do a good job of knowing signability before they draft, and they rarely lose any of their top 15. I’m betting they get all of those. Probably 50/50 for 16-25, then a smattering of the later rounds.

The sad truth is the minor leagues is purgatory. Not the heaven of the Show but not the hell of actually having to work for a living. Still, the pay is only marginally more than McDonald’s wages. A lot like serving an internship.

Well, good luck to those who can stay healthy.

Just a bit of trivia… Did you know that coach Dean Smith always assisted his players so that when they signed a pro contract prior to their graduation, he made sure a full scholarship was part of the contract so the player would have something to fall back on.

Nearly all came back to school after their playing days were done to get their degrees.

Braves #4 prospect RHP Mike Soroka is continuing to dominate AA hitters at the age of 19. He tossed another 7 shutout innings last night. Hasn’t allowed a run in is last 25 IP.

According to today’s report, he allowed a 1-out triple in the 2nd inning, but struck out the next 2 guys to strand the runner there.

This kid’s special. I’m not silly enough to start making comparisons of 19-year-olds to HOF’ers, but when the Braves finally do have Soroka and LHP Kolby Allard at the top of their rotation, it will have a familiar feel to it.

“Mike’s going to be real special,” Atlanta director of player development Dave Trembley said. “He’s a guy that will take the ball every fifth day, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to give you a lot of innings. He prepares very well, he’s very mature, he knows what he wants.

“We have a lot of confidence in the direction he’s going and we see him as a front-line pitcher in Atlanta for a long time.”

The six-foot-five, 225-pound right-hander credits playing for the Canadian junior team with helping his transition to the pros after he was selected 28th overall in the 2015 MLB draft.

“I was fortunate to be able to hit the learning curve a little sooner than most high school pitchers,” said Soroka. “I kind of realized that everybody throws hard, everybody has good stuff, it’s about how you use it, not just what you have anymore.”

God given talent, and wisdom beyond his years. He’s just a couple of years away.

This would be funny were it not so obvious it was the Braves plan all along once they hired Ron Washington.

At least Snit got the chance to be a major league manager. Tis no fault of his he is saddled with an old pitching staff. He can only play the guys who the brass supply him with. Any question that the Braves would be better with a healthy Freddie Freeman?

According to Bowman, the Braves “are expected to spend approximately $8.7 million to sign their top two selections — [Kyle] Wright and Drew Waters, a suburban Atlanta high school outfielder who was recently named Georgia’s Player of the Year.”

It’s an impressive top 2 picks for sure, but that will eat up a ton of their bonus pool. That said, these guys are pros and know what they’re doing. I’m confident they’ll still get in under the $9,881,200 limit, or at least under the first threshold that only costs $$ in penalties, but doesn’t affect future drafts. I think that’s about $10,375,260 if my math is correct.

I still wonder if they just see him as a fill in….sorta like Prado, and Infante had such a tough time proving they were full time players cuz someone(s) somewheres, said they weren’t. Same with Snit…
Does he make mistakes? Sure…so did F.G., so did Bobby…way too many IMHO…still was a successful manager.
Next year, when the braves Manager has 3-4 young studs in the rotation, that manager is going to really look smart. Just like Maddon looked smart when all that offensive talent matured at one time (how the Cubs won the W.S., you can only chalk it up to God saying it was time, no matter how dumb Maddon’s moves were)

If a team overspends between 0-5% above their pool, they pay a 75% tax on their overage. So the Braves can actually spend up to $10,375,260 without damaging The Plan. It’s a sort of “pad”, so to speak. You don’t want to spend it if you don’t have to, but it won’t hurt anything more than the wallet. In the Braves case, the max they’d be penalized is $370,545. It’s only money, right?
If a team overspends between 5-10% above their pool, they pay a 75% tax on the overage AND lose next year’s 1st round pick. You can rest assured that the Braves will NOT go above $10,375,260. Bet the mortgage on it.
If a team (stupidly) overspends between 10-15% above their pool, they pay a 100% tax on the overage AND lose next year’s 1st & 2nd round picks. And someone needs to be fired.
If a team is managed by morons and exceeds the pool by more than 15%, they pay a 100% tax on the overage AND lose their 1st round pick for the next 2 years. And the entire front office needs to be fired.

One other thing to consider…

Players signed after round 10 for a bonus greater that $125,000 have the excess added to their bonus amount for rounds 1-10.

The reason the Braves took college seniors in rounds 5-10 is that they have complete maneuverability in negotiations. Unless a guy wants to go play for the New Jersey Jackals for a year, they’ll work it out.

DO’B says the agreement with Kyle Wright is in place, is around $7M, and will be announced later today. The newest Brave is supposed to be at STP tonight.

And while DO’B doesn’t state the exact amount, he adds that Wright’s signing bonus will break Kris Bryant’s record $6,708,400 signing bonus under the current system.

I’ve been doing some reading this morning, and it’s astounding how many draft “experts” a/k/a pundits had Kyle Wright as the best player available. He could easily have gone #1, but the Twins fell in love with the kid they took (and he is a good one), and it looks like the Reds, Pads and Rays drafted for signability, kind of like the Braves did last year.

If you’ll remember, they took RHP Ian Anderson at pick #3 in the 1st round last year when he was in a lower position on almost all lists. As such, they were able to sign him under slot value and spread the savings out across the next picks. (As it turns out, they knew what they were doing. Anderson is performing like the #3 pick he was.)

At any rate, they had an easy Top 3 fall to them at 5.

Given his 4 pitch arsenal, age and college experience, I’d give him a fair shot at making The Show in a couple of years. The similarly placed Mike Minor was in AA by his 1st full season, and made his MLB debut the following season. I can see Wright following the same path. Much will be determined by how quickly he hones his control.

If reports are accurate, Wright will sign for about $7M tonight, and 2nd rounder Drew Waters will sign for right at his slot amount of $1,674,600 tomorrow.

I imagine they’ll have to stay pretty close to slot value for #3 pick Freddy Tarnok, the Florida HS pitcher, to get him under contract. He has a scholarship in hand and is committed to play for the University of Tampa. That said, he was picked a bit higher than expected, so the team may feel they can get him under his $709K slot. Every $100K helps, right?

#4 pick, RHP Troy Bacon, can choose to go back to glamorous Santa Fe Community College for another year and hope to raise his draft status. That said, it’s a miracle any scout actually found him at Santa Fe Community College.

Apparently last month Troy Bacon signed a letter of intent to play at Mississippi State next year. That changes his leverage a bit.

But the place where I found that item also says he wasn’t considered a 4th round pick pre-draft, so he may still sign for an under slot deal.

Why would he do that?

It is widely accepted that teams work out contract frameworks with players prior to making picks. This is not technically within the rules, but it’s a common practice. The Braves FOT’s most likely did their homework and have a really good idea on all these guys in their top 10, and probably their top 15. They haven’t lost a high pick in many years, so they know what they’re doing.

I need to take my own advice and just let this just play out organically rather than obsess over the numbers.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has a new piece called “6 draftees who could be quick to the bigs”. Kyle Wright is #2 on his list, which says this:

2. Kyle Wright, RHP, Braves (Round 1, No. 5 overall)The Vanderbilt ace is a great combination of ceiling and floor that could mean a quick ride up to Atlanta — especially after it was reported that he is close to a deal. His stuff is electric enough to get upper-level hitters up now and his advanced feel for pitching should allow him to handle rapid promotion. The Braves don’t shy away from moving arms quickly with a pair of teenagers and a 20-year-old currently in Double-A. Wright could join them sooner rather than later.

According to DO’B, Kyle Wright will start at Gulf Coast League, probably a few starts there, then possibly move up to low-A Rome. Could he follow the path of Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka and be in AA next season? Wouldn’t surprise me.

He has already pitched around 100 innings so far this season so I imagine the Braves will want to control his work load. Lots of little things to work on. I don’t worry about him making it to the show for a couple of years. Just not really necessary to push him until he is ready.

Fine tune him and get him ready for next spring, should be a fun camp.

As far as Matt Kemp, honest, I am not overly concerned. YET! Santana is not Matt Kemp but he seems to get better with playing time.

More on Matt Kemp… It is not like the Braves didn’t know Matt had to clunky gams. It is why I expect the Braves to continue to develop/trade for outfield help. Having a strong number 4 outfielder improves the team as a whole. Could be worse, we could have the Mets outfield crew. They lost Legarus last night to a fractured thumb.

Bummer…. Well, Neuk did not pitch poorly, pitched himself out of a heck of a jam in the 6th. Just no run support. To be honest, when the Braves failed to score in the first after a lead-off double by Enders, it just did not bode well for the Braves. Perhaps we should have sensed it when The Freeze was beaten.

The Cubs still have waaaaay too many hitters , just like the braves have (or soon will have) way too many pitchers…
But, the cubs hitters are not hitting, for the most part.
Javier Baez, 23 .240 (I’m old school, hitters B.A. still counts, I know…I need to get over how many hits, hitters have)
Addison Russell 24, .215

Kyle Schwarber 24, .174!!! but, 12 Hr’s and 28 RBIs

Albert Almora, 23, doesn’t play a ton, but is hitting .286, in 126 AB’s (His Minor league numbers don’t impress me, but then again he was called up last year at 22, probably should be in AAA getting AB’s somebody worth the braves looking into? I honestly don’t know enough about his potential, but like I said, numbers alone make we want to say no)

JHey, still only 27, is hitting .260, but I have seen big hits of late, 6 HR’s 29 RBIs
Ben Zobrist 36, only hitting .233 yet has 188 AB’s but they don’t win W.S. last year without him…
Kris Bryant, and Rizzo on hitting ok, and no one will get their AB’s

oops! Hate losing longish posts, so wrote in gmail, cut off bottom part

John Jay .307 in 114 AB’s
Ian Happ only 22, and for some reason came up this year, and while only hitting .215 for the cubs in 96 AB’s, he’s got 7 HRs at the ML level (Combined for 16 at AAA and ML) and I have seen a lot of big hits in his time with the Cubs. He only has about 90 games at AA and AAA, but clearly that didn’t scare the Cubs…He’s mainly a 2nd baseman, but about half of his ML games have been in the Outfield…Might he be someone to consider? Will teams trade for Pitchers in the Minors, with no Big league experience, or do you have to bring them up for 1 start to convince folks?
Do the cubs have other guys in the minors that there is no room for at the big league level?
I don’t see Jaime getting you Happ or Schwarber, not sure if they have cooled on Baez, he looked untradable after the W.S. You might get Almora, but again is he worth it? He is probably best in CF, and we have that covered….

Ber, I don’t see the Braves trading a pitcher for a guy already on a major league roster. I think it is more likely they make a trade for a couple of high ceiling prospects and cash.

So many clubs need pitching, including the Braves. No one wants our cast offs just like we don’t want theirs. Funny as to how many posters on other sites thinks the Braves can turn Bartolo and Dicky into Aaron Judge and Mike Trout.

Rebuilding ball clubs always trade for the future.

Rookie/young ball players always struggle just as soon as opposing teams learn their weakness. With so many games being televised, those weaknesses are exposed more quickly.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, the Cubs miss Dexter Fowler… He was a lot more than just a ball player for the Cubbies.

The Braves will go to a six-man rotation when Bartolo Colon returns from the disabled list next week, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The Braves want a longer look at rookie Sean Newcomb while they’re also not ready to release the struggling Colon, who is owed a little over $7MM for the rest of the season. It remains to be seen how long Atlanta will deploy the six-man rotation, though things could return to normal if a starter (such as Jaime Garcia) is dealt at the trade deadline.

story on Matt Adams by the Cards beat writer Rich Hummel…Cards organization has really gotten dumb…they knew he wouldn’t play much if any 1st base, but only had him work in left the last 2 weeks of spring training…shockingly, he didn’t excel at that… by the By, Rich Hummel was writing for the St. Louis Post Dispatch when I lived in STL, and I haven’t lived there since the early 80s!

I missed Newk’s first start, but caught a good bit of Friday. The kid is as good as advertised. He’s got a big league curveball and better control than I thought. He also has darn good composure than most young’uns… better than that of Folty even (though Folty continues to improve in that area). I think the kid is here to stay.

I advocated loudly, as you all know, to keep Lane Adams on the roster and let Boni go several weeks ago. Since that time, we’ve had Adonis get hurt (twice) and we’ve seen both Rio and Johan Camargo do good things. I am a big JoCar fan. To me, he’s won a major league roster spot. When Adonis comes back, Lane should be returned to Gwinnett. DanTana can back up CF just fine. I think we’re a better team with both Rio and Johan on the roster.

Brandon Phillips is good. He’s really good. And I think he’s gone at the deadline. Ozzie is ready and BP’s value will never be higher for us. The only kink on the plan is that Dansby needs to be ready to step into the #2 hole. Not sure he’s there yet. That said, Ozzie has been a leadoff guy for just about forever. perhaps he could step into the #2? I doubt they’d do that to him right away. Dansby may have to pull up his big boy panties and make it work.

Has there even been a player more steady and under the radar than Nick Markakis? He’s still under contract through 2018. Might the Braves just keep him into next season? I think it’s a distinct possibility, especially given that Dustin Peterson missed a month to start 2017. It should be noted, too, that in 257 professional games, DPetey has played in exactly 6 in RF. The vast, vast majority of his OF experience is in LF. I think he’s more in line to be Matt Kemp’s successor in LF. My crystal ball says Markakis starts 2018 in Atlanta, and is traded mid-season to open the door for Ronald Acuña.

How is Matt Kemp behind Jason Heyward in the All-Star voting? Better question, how does Jason Heyward currently hold a starting spot (3rd in OF) in All-Star voting? JHey is sucking as bad this season as he has since the Braves brass recognized his mediocrity and let him walk.

It’s just another example of Chicago ballot stuffing. I’m a baseball purist and don’t like to see changes made to this great game the way it’s been, but I’m ready to take the vote away from the fans. At least take the starting players away from the fans.

One of two things should happen. Either take the fan vote away (or lessen its impact), or make the game the exhibition game it was intended to be and remove the stupid World Series home field implications.

Of course we all know that #1 pick Kyle Wright signed on Friday for an overslot bonus amount of $7M. We talked about that already. And we speculated that #2 pick Drew Waters would sign on Saturday, which he did for slightly underslot bonus of at $1.5M.

This morning I’m seeing one list that says #3 pick Freddy Tarnok signed yesterday, but I cannot corroborate that anywhere with any report. I wouldn’t even worry about it very much, except the bonus amount shown on the list is a ghastly overslot amount of $1.445M. His slot amount is supposed to be $709K.

Until I see that signing and amount corroborated somewhere else, preferably local, I’m not gonna gnash my teeth over it. But dang… that would take the team over the $9,881,200 limit without even addressing the remaining 7 players in the top 10. Keep in mind that there would still be room under the $10,375,260 threshold that only includes monetary penalties. Not much though.

I’m having a tough time believing it’s factual. Maybe the Russians hacked the list I’m following.

The Braves have one of the deepest farm systems in the game, which may play a role in why the team went quality over quantity with its draft. RHP Kyle Wright (5), OF Drew Waters (2) and RHP Freddy Tarnok (3) are all high-ceiling and pricey picks. After that Atlanta took productive but inexpensive senior signs from the fifth through 10th rounds.

In other words, picks 4-10, and especially 5-10, will be told, “You’ll sign for this sum and you’ll like it.”. And they’ll probably like it.

I’m pretty certain all the math was worked out months ago but agents can be astute too. They know the Braves have to sign each pick or they lose the full value of that pick. The will pay the tax but they will balk at losing a number one pick.

Reading our old friend David Ross’s book. Always enlightening to peak under the curtain.

While I am sure the Braves would prefer to get some value for Colon, I have no doubt they would cut bait if Colon failed to put in a productive effort Wednesday.

One of two things should happen. Either take the fan vote away (or lessen its impact), or make the game the exhibition game it was intended to be and remove the stupid World Series home field implications.

I thought that was part of the new collective bargaining agreement… Heer is a link.

Well Vee, RHP Freddy Tarnok did sign for $1,445,000. That leaves $430,260 to be split amonst the other 7. The kicker is if a player doesn’t sign, the slot value is deducted from the pool. It does not leave a very wide margin for error. The tax is one thing, the loss of a 1st round pick can be huge because it would also mean a loss of that slot money too.

I still don’t see any reports of Tarnok’s signing anywhere aside from the one “tracker” I’m following. I need to see it corroborated somewhere.

That said, the same tracker now says that #4 Troy Bacon signed yesterday, but doesn’t list his bonus amount. Wonder how much of the remaining $430,260 he required, especially since his slot value is $487,400.

Really nice game from RA Dicky last night. He was impressive but the first inning may have been his guttiest. 2nd and 3rd with no outs and did not yield a run. That is tough to do.

I do think the ump behind the plate was giving RA the benefit of the doubt. A tight zone is death for a knuckler.

An observation: The Braves hitters have a tough time against a good pitcher but jump all over anyone who does not have their A stuff on a given night.

I think the Braves are playing pretty loose right now and it is good to see. Camargo has been in the middle of every late inning rally and Santana appears to have found his comfort zone. Amazing what playing time can do for a player’s confidence. What a great problem to have with Matt Adams. I am not sure what the Braves will do with him but his trade value may never be higher. I’m pretty sure he would welcome the opportunity to play left field if it meant he could play everyday.

I don’t see him being any worse than Matt Holiday or Matt Kemp who by the way made a pretty nice diving catch last night. Kemp appears to have some trouble following the ball off the bat as he often takes a step in the wrong direction. Of course the could just be my eyes playing tricks on me.

Julio tonight then Bartolo makes his return, that could be a big reveal. No pun intended… I think we will learn if Colon was indeed hurt the past month.

Kris Medin pitched 5 strong innings last night before hitting the wall last night in Gwinnett. The sixth inning was ugly but often that is what happens to a guy rehabbing. To me, the sixth and seventh innings are like the 21st mile of a marathon. Getting over the hump when your body is telling you to cash in your chips.

I think he is ready now for long relief and spot starts. Just no need to push him to hurt himself at this point. I expect he will be back in the show sooner than later.

I don’t even know what you would call a successful start by Bart…5 innings, 3 runs? Someone gonna trade you something for that? You send Newcomb back down for a month to see if on the off chance Colon can go 6-7 innings eventually? I remember Colon saying through a translator after his last start that he didn’t know what was wrong, he felt great….then we hear of the “injury” CUT YOUR LOSSES ALREADY!

I know, I know…I sound like EVERY AJC or DOB Twitter follower…its just so tiresome. I thought this was the year to start being competitive? Running him out there is not a competitive thing to do…Admit you made a mistake, and move on..plenty of guys can replace him…heck, he’s already replaced, had go to a 6 man rotation (wonder how the other starters feel about messing with their routine?) to find a place for him…
if he bombs, he’s more than likely done…but we thought before…what worries me is that 4 2/3rds inning start giving up 3 runs, or going 5, giving up 2, then giving up 2 more in the top of the 6th…then they will say he “earned’ another start…..

I don’t even know what you would call a successful start by Bart…5 innings, 3 runs?

To me, nothing short of the definition of a “quality start”, which is at least 6 innings pitched and no more than 3 earned runs. Even that minimum would be a vast improvement over his previous performances.

Someone gonna trade you something for that?

Trade? Possibly. But the Braves wouldn’t get anything more than a laundry basket in return and would still eat $11M of his $12M salary. Still… a million saved is a million that could go elsewhere. And it’s a spot off the roster.

You send Newcomb back down for a month to see if on the off chance Colon can go 6-7 innings eventually?

Nope. Newk is here to stay unless he nuts up and pulls a Blair. The short-term 6-man rotation is only for the purpose of seeing where Bart is at the moment. It could last one turn or 2 turns, but I doubt it would go more than 3 before something is done. If Bart looks remotely serviceable, he could simply remain when Garcia is traded. And I’ll bet my favorite Braves cap that Garcia is traded. The hope, of course, is that by some miracle Bart can make 2 “quality starts” in a row and can then be pawned off on a team decimated by pitching injuries, such as the Angels.

Well, they are competitive. Contenders? Not yet. But next year? Maybe. Remember, Bartolo and Jaime were brought in on 1-year deals only to bridge to 2018. Not for any other purpose.

2018 will be very different than 2017. You’ll have another influx from the pipeline, Ozzie and another pitcher or two, but you’ll also begin to augment the homegrown roster with a handpicked veteran or two.

Follow me here…

Coming off the books will be Bartolo’s $12.5M, Jaime’s $12M, the $2M the Braves are paying for BP, plus an additional $4M owed to pending FA’s Kurt Suzuki and EOF, as well as the already departed Boni.

(Just an FYI, they team holds a $4M option on Tyler Flowers

My math calls that $30.5M from just the guys we know won’t be around anymore. $30.5M will go a long way toward that one big FA signing that will transform a lineup. That could be a starting pitcher or a position player.

Notable FA’s that could be on the team’s radar this offseason:

C Jonathan Lucroy. If you sign a guy like Lucroy, then you can decline Flowers’ $4M option and resign Suzuki or another veteran FA as your backup.

3B Mike Moustakis. No explanation needed here. The LH bopper steps right in behind Matt Kemp at #5 in the order.

SP’s Yu Darvish, Johnny Cueto, Lance Lynn. I don’t think Coppy is going to sign a pitcher in FA, I believe he’s going to trade for one with a few years of control left on their current deal. He’s so enamored with Chris Archer that he could make another run at him this offseason. Archer is just 28, is controllable through 2020, and has been consistently good and durable for the last 4 seasons. It’ll cost a hefty price in prospects, but that’s why you stockpile so many.

So let’s envision here that Coppy trades for Archer and makes a notable FA signing, which is easily conceivable with their current salary structure.

And the bullpen could look like almost anything. Will JimmyJohn still be here or will he be traded in July? Will Viz settle into the closer role? Will Meds be pitching out of our bullpen or starting somewhere else? Will Mauricio Cabrera get his control back? Will some other youngster seize an opportunity? The thing is, there are only good options there. It’s not 2015 when we had no idea where another arm might come from. There are more answers than questions; it merely depends on who stays, who goes, and who steps up.

I foresee a big step forward in 2018.

BTW- Wouldn’t you just love to have Moustakis and Markakis in the same lineup? Our big fat Greek lineup. 😀

BTW- Wouldn’t you just love to have Moustakis and Markakis in the same lineup? Our big fat Greek lineup

That would be awesome! 😛

It’s true, “we” are competitive, I just am tired of trying to get blood from a turnip, that’s all…if Garcia is traded, that’s a savings too, correct? Roughly 4 mil this year, and 8 million (not that he’s under contract next year, but that was money that was spent this year)

I have to say V, that is not a rotation that excites me. Perhaps it’s the 2017 version of Julio T, and RAD (except for last night, and that other steller start) just aren’t that good….Chris Archer…3.75 ERA this year,(4.02 last year) ton of strike outs, it’s true. but…you want to give up say, Mike Soroka and Kevin Maitan for him? No, me neither….and I don’t think they would either…but…Soroka and Kolby Allard, or Soroka and Acuna…they have seen what teams like the White Sox were able to get for IMHO, overrated (ok, not Chris Sale, but their CF that the Nats got, cost way to much in prospects)

So, who do you think you can get by giving up for a soon to be 29 Year old #2/#3?????

I keep thinking that the Braves won’t keep Kemp and Nick M…Nick M, is a very good hitter, but…not a power hitter, nor a big RBI guy….
V, I keep seeing people saying the braves are paying Kemp’s contract next year, 18 mil…is that true????

Nope. Both of those guys are untouchable. But Lucas Sims? Touki Toussant? Luis Gohara? Travis Demeritte? Dylan Moore? Christian Pache? And if you like Camargo enough or sign a Moustakis, even Rio Ruiz? Any of those guys are expendable and highly touted. You could put a package together for Tampa of Sims, Ruiz, Toussant and Demeritte and land Archer.

So, who do you think you can get by giving up for a soon to be 29 Year old #2/#3?

I think you’re selling him way short. His ERA is not enough to measure him by. He was ROY in 2013, and an All-Star in 2015, when he finished 5th in Cy Young voting. His current 1.180 WHIP (slightly better than his career 1.200) is better than any ATL starter, and his 11.9 K/9 would lead the entire staff. Plus, in his last 3 full seasons, he’s made 32, 34, & 33 starts respectively for 194.2, 212.0, & 201.1 IP. He’s on a pace to match those numbers again this year. He’s a horse like this team hasn’t seen in several seasons. Plus, take the annoying DH out of the lineup and he could feast in the NL.

So yes, I think he’d be a great addition to our staff, both for the rotation and for the bullpen.

V, I keep seeing people saying the braves are paying Kemp’s contract next year, 18 mil…is that true????

Kemp is owed $21.75M for 2017, 2018 & 2019. In all of those, LAD is paying $3.5M and SDP is paying $2.5M. So the Braves (or any team that would conceivably assume the contract) are only on the hook for $15.75M annually, which is a bargain for a slugger in today’s terms.

I keep thinking that the Braves won’t keep Kemp and Nick M…Nick M, is a very good hitter, but…not a power hitter, nor a big RBI guy…

Agree on Nick. He’s a great guy to have in your lineup if he’s surrounded by power hitters, like on the Braves. His consistency is a great asset. He’d be a good guy for a contender with an obvious hole in RF or LF.

Surprisingly, though, he still drives in a fair amount of runs. His career avg. over 162 games is 78, which is not too shabby for a guy with mediocre power.

I keep thinking that the Braves won’t keep Kemp and Nick M…Nick M, is a very good hitter, but…not a power hitter, nor a big RBI guy…

Seems a natural thought, except the Braves really don’t have anybody to replace either of them with right now. And Kemp’s power at cleanup is the key to Freddie excelling at #3. I don’t think the team could afford to part with that.

If Dustin Peterson had not gotten injured in spring, and had continued on the pace of last season at AA/AAA, I think Nick might be more aggressively shopped. But like I said yesterday, DPetey is a serviceable LF, but not so much in RF. He’s a converted 3B who is a bat first player. LF is the best place to stash him. IMO, RF is earmarked for Ronald Acuña in 2019. It might behoove the Braves to allow Nick to keep it warm until at least mid-2018.

You could put a package together for Tampa of Sims, Ruiz, Toussant and Demeritte and land Archer.

I just don’t think they’d make that deal…Sims had those several lousy starts in a row (does seem to have pitched better, 8 shutout innings, then 5 innings, gave up 4 runs) , Toussaint sucks right now (didn’t know that’s how you spell it but, found nothing the other way) 1-8, 5.74 ERA in high A
Demeritte has been good though…

You make a good point about taking some pressure off the bullpen….
I do still think of ERA as an important stat, as much as MLBTV doesn’t 😉

A trade of Garcia will not entail the Braves paying him any of his remaining salary IMO.

Oh, I’m sure you are right Gil….a solid lefty is nothing to sneeze at….
if he would face the Nats, or some other 1st place team between now and the trade deadline, and shuts them down, that will get teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, etc to notice for sure…

I think the Braves hang onto Adams for a while to make sure Freddie is not suffering from the wrist injury. Look at how long Peterson has been sidelined. Just thinking out loud but wrist injuries can be funny things for a slugger.

Funny that Markakis is not a big RBI guy when he always seems to come thru in RBI situations. He is a better five hole hitter than three hole but you do what you need to do given the personnel available.

I think Matt Kemp is a real asset to this team. I would not be surprised to see him still with the club next season nor will I be surprised to see him flipped for a nice haul.

You don’t want to sell all your assets. I have not really looked at who needs what as far as other clubs go.

I think the Braves hang onto Adams for a while to make sure Freddie is not suffering from the wrist injury.

Alot depends on how willing Big City is to accept a bench role. I know it shouldn’t matter… employer/employee and all that. But it does affect these guys. And as much as we’d like to project him into another position somewhere, the reality is that he doesn’t play anywhere else on the field. That hurts an already short bench. You know why a guy doesn’t get moved around any in the minors? Because they can’t. I also think that he has been so great for this team as “Freddie’s fill in” that Coppy might just do him a real solid gesture and trade him to a contending team. As much as I love the guy, let’s be honest. He’s never produced like this before. His value is at an all time high. Coppy needs to cash in his chips before before he craps out.

I have not really looked at who needs what as far as other clubs go.

As for Adams specifically, I read a piece earlier today speculating on that very topic, and the guy made some very good arguments for and against a handful of contending teams. Bottom line for him was that the Indians and Astros seemed the best fits, with CLE matching up the best with their young catching prospect to dangle and HOU focusing more on pitching. It was hard for me to disagree with the guy’s very well laid out arguments.

Look at how long Peterson has been sidelined.

Actually he’s been back playing games at Gwinnett for a while, but he hasn’t regained the stroke he had last year. In 30 games, he’s slashing a punchless .250/.328/.304 with no HR’s in 125 PA’s.

I think Matt Kemp is a real asset to this team. I would not be surprised to see him still with the club next season nor will I be surprised to see him flipped for a nice haul.

Honestly, I’ll be surprised if he’s moved before the last year of his deal (2019). He’s made a huge, gigantic, monstrous difference to this whole lineup, especially to Freddie Freeman. I think he’s more important to this team than many want to admit.

Bartolo Colon will not start for the Braves tomorrow. He has been scratched. Snit says he had a rough bullpen and back stiffness. There is no timetable when Colon might come back into the rotation. The guys will just slot back up into normal rest.

Good sense is being employed here. He needs to take time to get back, if he gets back. Father time catches up with everyone at some point.

I think Matt Kemp is a real asset to this team. I would not be surprised to see him still with the club next season nor will I be surprised to see him flipped for a nice haul.

Honestly, I’ll be surprised if he’s moved before the last year of his deal (2019). He’s made a huge, gigantic, monstrous difference to this whole lineup, especially to Freddie Freeman. I think he’s more important to this team than many want to admit.

Guys, the experts know best…when people say F.F. started to take off once Kemp came over, they say that really wasn’t true. Who are we to argue with the experts? Oh sure, they may never watch a game on tv, or in person, but they have stats to back up their assurances, their proof. Remember , last year Kemp may have hit 35 HR’s and driven in 108, but the really smart statheads said there were at least 100 players last year that were more valuable. 0.7 WAR last year, only 0.9 this year. He really can be replaced by anyone in the minors. I…Thought you guys knew that….
EXPERTS KNOW BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK.. just to satisfy my own curiosity, let’s see where Matt Adams has been tried defensively.

In 390 major league games at a defensive position, he’s spent 384 of them at 1B and parts of 6 in LF, all of those earlier this season with St. Louis. Best I can tell, he only had one ball hit his direction, and that wasn’t a fly ball. He didn’t boot it, though. 😀

In 7 minor league seasons, he played in 338 games… all at 1B.

A change of positions now just doesn’t seem feasible to me, but what do I know? I don’t get paid to make such evaluations like those guys do. I’ll defer to the professionals.

its so odd, the cards are almost the kings of having guys play several positions…but he was heavier til this off season…with the promise of more playing time, I think…show up in TBSOML, and they, as an afterthought put him in the outfield for the last 2 weeks of spring training, instead of 6 weeks…stupid!
then 2-3 games this year, that’s it…

Also, #’s 15 and 17 are signed for a TBD amount. It’s interesting that picks 11-20 are all college juniors except #18 who is a senior.

So as we’ve noted several times, our scouting and drafting departments are professionals and had a well developed sound strategy that they employed. This year’s strategy was to draft “high ceiling, high floor” talent early, fill in some organizational gaps with “low ceiling, high floor” kids to round out the to 10, and look for “high ceiling, low floor” potential after that.

With a flush and talented farm system already in place, you can afford to do what they did, which is to pick a few cherries high to top off the bowl.

Lost in all the draft news and trade rumors was the fact that RHP Dan Winkler started a rehab assignment at low-A Rome last week before they went into their All-Star break, then was sent to high-A Florida Fire Frogs on Monday to stay active. If you’ll remember, Winkler made the big team out of spring last year making his comeback from TJ surgery and broke a bone in his elbow in his 3rd appearance.This is a guy I’m rooting for to make it all the way back, not just because he’s a talented pitcher who could help our bullpen, but because he’s a good person and Godly man working hard to make it back from 2 devastating injuries. I believe he’ll make it.

I usually get home, turn on the tv to see a close game, then see the braves come back and win…instead, I see the ball going anywheres, and everywheres all at once….I did wonder if the ball was wet…I know it had rained like crazy south of the ATL, but didn’t know if it had rained up there or not….

Aside from those who have already signed, it lists all of the remaining top 24 as “Expected to sign”, with #25, C Jake Taylor (not from the movie Major League) as “Will not sign”. It’s followed by C Charlie Carpenter at #26 who is “Expected to sign”.

I said earlier if we could get our top 25 it’d be a great draft. If we get the entirety of the top 24 + the #26, it’s still a great draft. Stay tuned.

As for the chatter of moving our franchise player to another position, or playing a guy out of position who has been nothing short of abysmal in a short audition elsewhere, I cannot (and don’t want to) see it happen. As for my opinion on the topic, I agree with the AJC’s Mark Bradley, who says:

In a perfect world, you’d want to keep guys who are having big years around. Trouble is, guys like [Matt] Adams and [Brandon] Phillips wouldn’t have been available if they’d done nothing but have big years. Over the long haul, the Braves don’t need another left-handed first baseman or a 36-year-old middle infielder. For all their good work, Adams and Phillips probably won’t be around much longer

Come August 1, I hope to see Freddie back in his spot, with LF Matt Kemp protecting Freddie in the batting order, and I hope to see Ozzie getting his feet wet at his long term home.

All the conjecture around keeping Matt Adams happy is simply something for the taking heads to talk about. Much like the expansion of the Braves pitching staff to 6 starters so they would have some place to play Bartolo.

I know, I’m guilty too but these things have a way of working themselves out. Perhaps the more important question should be how many errors will they allow Dansby to make before they move him to 2nd base and play Ozzie at short? I am sure I am not the only person who has thought about this.

Hey, I really like Dansby but like Chipper Jones, he realized that a move to third base was prudent when he had problems at short.

For all his offense, Matt Adams is no Freddie Freeman… I think folks forget how good Freddie’s defense is.

One last comment on Julio’s performance last night. I don’t know how much more you could ask of a guy? Looks like Kurt will be his regular catcher too. Just seems to be a better fit.

Really doesn’t surprise me that F.F. would consider doing that….he’s a great guy that doesn’t have that typical ego that most superstars have, and a total team player.
I think Soooo much will depend on whether Big City can keep this up or not for the next 5 weeks…I don’t know that anyone, save F.F. could, but if he just hits a few homers a week, drives in some key runs, at least consider it…
Right now, the deep thinkers of baseball think 1st basemen are the low men on the totem polls of baseball….I know Chris Carter struck out a ton, with a low B.A. but, he hit 41 HR’s drove in 94, and walked 76 times…and was released. No one wanted him..(now a Yankee, just now getting some starts at 1st after other guys failed) ..can’t tell me that of 15 AL teams there wasn’t some team that could have used a DH/1st baseman that would hit 35-40 HR’s…shoot, bat him 8th, and you can’t tell me that kind of production wouldn’t be helpful to some team…
anyway, long story long…1st basemen don’t seem to get much love these days…so, what will you get for Adams in a trade? the Yankees could use a left handed 1st baseman(Greg Bird who hit 11 HR’s in 157 AB’s at the age of 22, has been injured most of the past 2 seasons) but would they give up muc for Adams? Perhaps, but they have held on to prospects like they rarely have the past several seasons…
so many points to make, but brain not cooperating…
Check this out. Sid Bream. (had no idea he was only here 3 years, seemed like much more than that)
was only in 91 games first year here, ’91 (was he injured for almost half the season???) 11 HR’s 45 RBI’s .253/313 . Pretty decent numbers for little more than half a season. 92. 10 Hr’s 61 RBI’s in 127 games, only 372 AB’s, as he was considered, like Adams, a guy who couldn’t hit lefties. 93, 11 HR’s 35 RBI’s, .260 in 117 games, 277 ABs
Matt Adams 10 HR’s 27 RBI’s .296 BA, .349 OBP in 115 AB’s. but…he was only an everyday player 1 year in St. Louis. at the age of 25. 15 HR’s 68 RBI’s .288 BA, but only .321 OBP, which is why I think they didn’t let him play full time after that year. Cuz those 20-30 walks would have meant maybe 8 more runs scoring!!! Looks like a Sid Bream year, right? (Would Sid Bream start on any team today? Or would he have bulked up, and hit more homers?)
Last year, at 27, 118 games, .297 AB’s 16 Hr’s, 54 RBI’s , .249 BA, .309 OBP
So, IF you think he could hit lefties consistently , that would turn into 32 HR’s 108 RBI’s over a full season.
Snit said the other night after another big game by big city, that guys he knew that played with Matt said, he can hit lefties if you play him against them (I almost wonder if he really meant to say that, since it disses the cards a bit, and probably got them wondering who said that over there) and when he came over told him he would play everyday, including against lefties…
he’s 28, you know, the prime years of a career…some guys develop later than others, plus some guys just aren’t as good riding the bench….
Capt. Obvious will state again, IF he keeps hitting close to what he’s hitting now, it makes it a tough, interesting decision the braves will have to make.
Now, if the Yankees want to trade Gary Sanchez, or Aaron Judge for Julio T and Adams…go ahead and make that deal… 😆

I have work to do, but it’s clearly far more important that I talk baseball on this here blog! 😉 (I sure hope those folks that are forever joining our group do read this crap…err, well though out posts I make, and it’s just just V, Gil and CL that read it 😆

ok, one , well 2 really smart moves by Coppy I like (perhaps Hart being more old school got him to do them?) was not being a stoopid stathead , when it came to Matt Kemp, and Brandon Phillips…
I didn’t have it in me yesterday with my other long winded post, but Matt Kemp is…a very good player! But, most GM’s and Statheads today would disagree with that viewpoint.
Why did the Padres trade him for a guy that they didn’t even give a chance to? (Granted I can’t blame them, but I do feel people should be given another chance, DEPENDING on the situation , I never did read/hear exactly what happened there, but after you pay a price, you should be able to play again) why didn’t they trade him for something, anything, if they were still eating salary? How horrible was he last year? in 100 games 409 AB’s 24 Doubles, 23 HR’s 69 RBI’s .262 BA. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he didn’t walk much!!!! .282 OBP!!! OMG, OMG!!!!!!!!!! That equaled worthless, in the eyes of many.
True, Padre stadium is not a great place for an “aging” outfielder. Could have put him at 1st, and put Wil Myers in left, but nope…traded him (and yes his salary for a few years to come) away, and got NOTHING Back. He wasn’t exactly BJ Upton you know…
Plus, they have room to play youngsters…
Look how good Wil Myers, at 1st, and the left fielder are doing, this year…http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/2017.shtml

pt 2, Brandon Phillips. Let me take you way back to 2012.
BP hit .281/321, with 163 Hits, 28 walks, 18 HR’s and 77 RBIs.
in 2013,
BP hit 261/310, with 158 Hits, 39 walks , 18 Hr’s and 103 RBI’s
which year looks to be the better year???
Wrong! Every time he was mentioned by MLBTR (and perhaps elsewhere) I don’t know if it was talking about trades, or guys having a down year, his name kept coming up as a guy that had a down year, in 2013. A 2nd baseman drives in 103 RBI’s and it’s a down year???? 😯 (or is it 80 )
crazy talk! But, driving in runs, supposedly an important part of the game in the past, is just…a number that means nothing. what really was important was the fact he had 5 fewer hits in 2013 than 2012, in 26 ABs. He even walked 10 times more, but that didn’t matter. Slugging, and OPS were down, now that, that mattered…why mention this? Cuz I wanted to waste some time…plus, it was when I first started to really notice the insanity of statheads. Common sense was out the window. ( I blame Obama, he must have had a hand in making stupidity somehow the smart viewpoint)
last year, BP, in his 11th with the reds, he hit 34 doubles, 11 Hr’s drove in 64, and hit .291 (but only .320 OBP!!!!) remember when that was a whatyacallit, a good year for a 2nd baseman? No more…plus our baseball superiors, who have made up new stats in a laughable attempt to gauge fielding, said he was not very good at 2nd base anymore. I am sure you have noticed that too, as he ranges further to his left than most 2nd basemen I have ever seen. in fact, they couldn’t wait to dump him ( I know, they have prospects that needed a place to play) and just wanted to save him the embarrassment of being released. so, for 1 million dollars and 2 non prospects, we have a great fielding 2nd baseman hitting .303, .346, that according to the experts, would only be a bench piece for a contending team…
I think he’s a HOF’er, for his defense alone….
I wish he was 33 or 34, I’d keep him…I mean, who do teams fear the most coming up with a guy on 2nd, in the bottom of the 9th? BP and Kemp….but what does real in game results matter when you have computers to tell you who is good, and who is not good?

For Mark Bradley to act like he wasn’t a good player last year, or for anyone else to say he sucked when he was driving in 100 + RBI’s a year, is stupid…they are stupid.

1st basemen don’t seem to get much love these days…so, what will you get for Adams in a trade?

I read some speculation on potential matches yesterday, but won’t bore everyone with all the teams and players mentioned. But I will post the guy’s “most likely” scenario, which I don’t believe is too far fetched.

Better offense. They are 17th in the majors in scoring and Michael Brantley was just moved from the Paternity List to the Disabled List with a sprained ankle. There oughta be a story behind that.

WHAT THEY MIGHT OFFER

How badly do they wish to redeem themselves in the World Series? How badly would the Braves want to go after their number 2 prospect: Catcher Francisco Mejia… also the #2 catching prospect overall?

Here’s a case where the Braves could offer perhaps [Matt] Adams, a good pitching prospect, and a lower-level catcher to obtain Mejia. The addition of Adams could definitely help this team and getting Mejia would be a coup for Atlanta.

CHANCES OF A DEAL WITH ATLANTA

Fair to good. The Indians have had some momentum going their way, but right now they just don’t match up offensively with the Astros come playoff time.

OK… my take on this is simple. CLE could certainly use Matt Adams, and the spark he has provided here could be the the spark they need to make a return to the World Series in 2017. Their current 1B option is not bad, he’s just having a bad season. But he’s pulling down a cool $12M this year to do it. He is also in his FA walk year and will probably command somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 years/$60M in FA, according to “one executive”.

Their DH is Edwin Encarnacion. He’s in the first year of his own 3 year/$60M deal. I don’t think The Tribe can afford both Encarnacion and Santana, and they won’t be able to trade EE’s contract, so Santana is the logical one to go. Thus, they’ll be needing a 1B for sure next season anyway.

They also need pitching. Their rotation has not been good, and Danny Salazar has been hurt. I wouldn’t cash in the Jaime Garcia chip here because I think it becomes an overpay at that point, but I wouldn’t be opposed including Lucas Sims, throwing in C Brett Cumberland or Lucas Herbert to round it out. I might even consider C Alex Jackson if I have a real shot at Mejia.

Mejia is a 21 year old that is currently crushing it at AA, slashing .366/.408/.616 with 8 HR’s. I’d be pursuing that track hard if it had any semblance of life to it.

Always insightful and well thought out post Ber. Perhaps you would consider composing a lede.

On Camargo… Good comparison to Prado and Infante. Similar type of player with a good skill set. I like Rio Ruiz but Camargo is a better all around player at this point.

Sometimes I think it is just poor chemistry between a player and an organization/manager/GM. Who knows why an organization gives up on a player? While I am in no way an athlete, I do recall some jobs, managers etc I had a definite personality conflict with. Hey, not saying it was their fault but it made a huge difference in my performance and attitude.

I can’t say a baseball team is any different. Look at the conflict between Bobby Cox and Frank Wren. If JS had it to over again, do you think he would have promoted Big Bird to the GM position?

Yes Vee, converting Matt Adams into a third baseman or catcher via trade is likely a better possibility than moving Freddie Freeman across the diamond. I am of the mind it is easier to move from third to first than it is the other way around.

Offense is great but defense is still important. Look at last night’s game. Okay, let’s not come to think of it. Time to put that game in the rear view mirror…

On trading Matt Adams…. Timing is everything. Can’t really let him go before Freddie comes back can you? Then again, if you are certain you won’t be invited to the dance, you may as well wash your hair eh?

On trading Matt Adams…. Timing is everything. Can’t really let him go before Freddie comes back can you?

I think you strike if a really, really good offer comes, regardless of Freddie’s status. Freddie will be back probably early- to mid-August. If we have to go a month with Johan Camargo at 1B, then so be it.

Micah Johnson is about to head off to a rehab assignment, and Sean Rodriguez isn’t far behind him. The bench decisions are about to get really interesting. Micah has an option left, so if he has to remain at AAA until September, then that’s the way it is. But SeanRod will need a spot when he’s ready. Rio ought not get too comfy in his nice locker at STP.

Look at it this way Vee, it is not like the Braves will cut him from the roster if he flops as a third baseman. I imagine he feels that if Chipper could play third, he can too. It should be interesting.

Wow….
I had no idea F.F. was anywhere’s near ready for any baseball activities!
Is F.F. an athlete? yes. Is he a really good athlete? again, yes. Does he probably relish a chance to do something different? You betcha . If he is a decent 3rd baseman, he is far more valuable to the team as a 3rd basemen, as we know 1st base is an easy position, and it doesn’t really matter who is playing there…

I may have said that last line, with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.
but seriously, who really knows how good F.F. can be at 3rd. Not like this team is going to the playoffs this year…or are they? No, even though they are in 2nd place, no probably not.
But man, for a few more errors from the 3rd baseman, the 2nd baseman, and SS. IF, and I do mean IF Matt Adams can keep hitting lefties some, and pound righties like he has, well…then you got a 1st baseman who can hit 25-30 HR’s and drive in 90 to 100 RBI’s for nothing. And talk about lengthening a lineup!
And IF F.F. can play 3rd well (and well, why shouldn’t he? He is going to work his butt off, and with F.F. over at 1st to scoop up just about anything…wait…I’m still tired even after a nap) What does it hurt to try? If FF isn’t very good there, or Matt Adams drops down to a more average hitter over the next month…then you still have to get a 3rd baseman…

😛 😛 😛
Man, twice I have lost the post comment button today, after being a wee bit snarky…which looks really funny….

I heard former 3rd baseman Mike Lowell talk about it on mlbtv…he…hopes he can do it, but said he isn’t concerned that he will get hurt over there…and that’s the thing. He’s not moving to Left or 2nd base…much more likely to get hurt doing that…
seems this was all F.F’s idea too…interesting…
I think folks really like Adams…

Because Freddie’s a team guy and Matt Adams is hitting like he’s never EVER hit in his career.

Which is exactly why you trade him NOW.

I understand this is all Freddie’s idea and I admire him for that. I also think there could be a little bit of gamesmanship going on here that the team might be signaling to the other 29 that we don’t necessarily have to trade Adams. If you want him, you better make a decent offer for him.

Okay, I am seriously suspicious of Tyler Flowers… A wild pitch in the 8th that bounced off his chest protector allowing Span to score from third. To me he has the same catching skills as El Orso Blanco.

Hunter Pence doing what Hunter Pence does… Thank goodness for the short fence in right. I’ll take it…

In Newk’s 3 ML starts, he has a 1.96 ERA and opposing batters are only hitting .185 off him. Then you hear him talk to the media, and he sounds like a 10 year veteran. The kid’s got something; I’m glad the Braves have him.

CL, basically because there is a small , unique window to try this. Adonis Garcia is hurt, and is not a long term solution at 3rd base. Rio Ruiz started hot then cooled off quite a bit. He doesn’t look to be, as of June 2017 the long term guy there. So there is little risk of blocking someone in the system at 3rd right now.
As much as I was a cheerleader for Matt Adams over James Loney, I had NO clue he would do this well! No one did. I was hoping for 4,5 HR’s 10-15 RBI’s and a 260 BA. in his first month here.
Instead in 30 games as a brave he has 11 HR’s and 29 RBIs with a .294 BA
to put that in perspective, FF in 37 games had 14 HR’s (which lead the league when he was injured, and still lead the league for about a week after he was on the DL) 25 RBI’s and a .342 BA.
Matt Kemp, in 60 games, has 12 HR’s 35 RBIs, and a .320 B.A.
I don’t know if hitting coach Kevin Seitzer saw a flaw in his swing, or If Matt Adams, having a chance to relax, and know he was going to play everyday for two months unless he was flat out terrible helped his timing and/or Confidence, or what…but something has clicked…for a month at least.
Braves could trade Nick M and move Kemp to Right, and Adams in Left, but that would more than likely give us 2 subpar outfielders, and very tired CF’er.
So, with basically nothing to lose, it sounds like F.F. talked the braves into giving him a shot at 3rd. If he makes an error a night, well, Matt Adams has to be traded. IF he can be a league average guy or better,(And guys like F.F. try harder , work harder than regular guys, it’s why he’s a superstar) and IF Matt can settle into being a .270 hitter who could hit 25-30 HR’s a year, drive in 90…then the braves have a much more dangerous lineup from here on out.
Also, one less hole to plug , as there are few 3rd basemen out there, (and several teams can/will get the guy you want) and if you don’t get someone that’s better than Garcia or Ruiz…then you have to play Garcia and Ruiz.
Plus, more moola to spend on a catcher like the Rangers Jonathan Lucroy (who by the by is going to be 32 next year, and only has 4 HR’s and 19 RBI’s) or the braves will have more prospects to use to get a catching prospect or an ace (or a #2 like Archer that Coppy has a man crush on) and to perhaps upgrade Right field production from Nick M. (I really like the guy, think he’s very good, but he doesn’t have much pop, and you need some pop from your right fielder if you want to compete with the Nats… and unlike other players , isn’t getting any younger 🙄 )

So much can go wrong, either guy can get hurt , and make it a moot point, but a comment I saw about the move made a good point I hadn’t thought of.
If FF is ok at 3rd, and Matt hits ok from here to the trading deadline, then the braves will look less like a team that HAS to trade Matt Adams….they still could, but he won’t be sitting on the bench rotting once F.F. is back…

One has to wonder if they’ll sign anyone else. Most of the rest are youngsters who will go to college or go back to college. You have to figure that unless you’re a college senior, you might as well try it again next year after round 25. In the Braves case, it’s after round 24.

The Braves make note that they’ve signed their top 10 for the 8th straight year. Jeff Schafer of Tomahawk Take relates the last time the Braves failed to sign a top 10 pick. In 2009, the Braves were not able to sign their 6th round pick RHP Ryan Woolley. Instead of signing, he went to Alabama-Birmingham College and was drafted again in 2011 by the Detroit Tigers… but not until the 13th round. He was out of baseball by 2013. Oops.

2009 was a bit of a disaster year for the Braves if you’ll recall. Frank Wren released Tom Glavine, lost John Smoltz to Boston, then missed on FA’s Rafael Furcal, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Jake Peavy. So instead he overpaid for Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, Javier Vazquez, and Garrett Anderson.

Ugh… let’s just forget all about that year, OK?

Back to this year’s draft… There are two more draftees who are listed as “Expected to sign”, being #26 C Charlie Carpenter, a college junior out of University of South Carolina Upstate, and #34 IF/OF Ricky Negron, a college senior out of University of Tampa, We’ll see if they get it done. It’d be nice to land Carpenter, who’s a big boy at 6’6″/230 and the prototypical catcher. In 48 games this season, he slashed .357/.441/.592 with 11 HR’s for the Spartans.

What impressed me with Newcomb was the giants had him at 40 + pitches after 2 innings(kept fouling off his pitches) and I honestly thought he would be out after 4 + innings, even if he didn’t give up any runs . So, naturally, since the game had such a late start, we watched Flying Down to Rio, and when it was over, saw it was in extras….but checked the box score….Newcomb went 6, only 80 pitches! That’s like a grizzled vet to only toss 35 or so pitches over his final 4 innings after the other team is grinding out AB’s to get your pitch count up…not bad, not bad at all for a 3rd start!

Ber, Newk started pitching after the 2nd inning. That is, he stopped trying to be so fine and pitched to contact. Strike outs are sexy but like the old adage, “Drive for show, putt for dough”. Keeping your pitch count at a reasonable level will allow your team a better chance to win.

Having “swing and miss” stuff is great but often it wears on a pitcher. I think the media is guilty of promoting the stereo-type, when is the last time you saw a montage of pop ups and ground ball outs? Nope, they always show the strike outs.

Still, a pitcher does need an “out” pitch on occasion. Nothing like seeing a hitter have a 10 pitch at-bat to drive up one’s angst level.

Nope, the secret to a pitcher’s success often lies in their ability to keep the ball off the sweet spot of the bat. Plus having guys playing behind them who can catch and throw the ball.